Funding Sources for Terrorist Organizations Essay

Funding Sources for Terrorist Organizations - Essay Example According to Ehrenfeld (2002), terrorist operations such as selling illegal drugs, prostitution, and donation, in most cases, takes place in countries far away from their area of operation. Therefore, funds made must be channeled to them without being detected. Funds from drugs are obtained either by directly distributing the drugs or extorting drug traffickers. Drug money can be channeled either by carriers that ship money notes together with other goods or distributing funds to various wire transfers and registering them as processing expenses incurred in the transfers. The second method of extorting funds from businesses, farms, schools, as well as, other drug traffickers, is said to be taxation fee or payment for protection and security provided to hide its true purpose. These funds are given to individuals that relay the amount collected to the organization. The third method, on donations or charity, involves making multiple deposits to a single account consistent with donations made to a private charity firm (FATF, 2015). Forth methods on money laundering, funds are channeled using mechanisms such as fabricated invoices and loans, purchase of luxurious items, company shares, estates, or investing in casinos and hotels. Finally, funds obtained through prostitution are channeled through an individual that collects from them. Some prostitutes could be victims of human trafficking. Fatf. (2015). Financing Of the Terrorist Organization Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) FATE.  

Problem Solution & Defense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Problem Solution & Defense - Essay Example As a part of this process, it has also acquired Enviro Tech, which is one of the Company’s major domestic competitors. Some of the salient issues that need to be addressed are as follows: (a) managing the merger with Enviro Tech successfully, paying attention to organizational issues (b) addressing the concerns of the old time employees of Inter clean and (c) the issue of training for employees. The goal of this process of transition is to transform the Company’s purely sales based approach to a solutions based approach. As a part of this approach, the organizational framework of the Company has changed, with the acquisition of Enviro tech. People management plays a critical role in a successful merger and acquisition as in this case of acquisition of Enviro tech by Inter clean, with sensitive decisions to be made on issues such as organizational design and staffing, etc but these are often elements that are overlooked. (www.coolavernues.com). In the case of Inter Clean after the acquisitions process, the members of the executive team all have different agendas and there is a lack of coordination and integration in terms of goals, motivation and long term interests of the Company. Tom wants to pursue global expansion, Sally is interested in further mergers, Janet wants to retain the status quo in terms of HR policy and Garcia and the others want to take over an important role in Sales and Marketing. This has created a win/lose situation as part of a distributive negotiations process, as a result of which there is confusion in goals, especially among Inter clean employees. There is also a conflict between the employees of Inter Clean and Enviro tech. Janet does not want to let the old employees go, while the executive team wants to include employees of Enviro tech. This is causing difficulties and confusion among employees, since some of them anticipate being

Edgar Linton has more right Essay Example for Free

Edgar Linton has more right Essay The word hero conjures an image in one’s head of a valiant, courageous, strong individual; one who puts the needs of others before their own, a being who defies evil with their handsome charm and fearless nature. However, this stereotypical image does not accurately depict the full extent to which the term hero covers, as there are many different types of hero including the Byronic Hero, Classic Hero, Medieval Hero, and Romantic Hero. Classic Heroes are those in Greek and Roman literature; they are often of royal birth or even like the Titan Prometheus; half mortal, half god. Although Edgar Linton is not of royal descent, he is from a family of the highest social class throughout the country which allows him to fall loosely into this category of noble birth. Heathcliff on the other hand, is from a discernible background and is brought into the household at Wuthering Heights as a ‘gipsy brat’ after Mr. Earnshaw saw, ‘it starving, and houseless, and as good as dumb in the streets of Liverpool.’ Another characteristic of a Classic Hero is that they perform extraordinary feats. Throughout the novel Edgar Linton displays no obvious signs of having done anything extraordinary; he is a calm, weak natured individual who avoids conflict and allows himself to be easily overpowered both by Heathcliff and his wife allowing the latter to mock him, ‘I wish Heathcliff may flog you sick, for daring to think an evil thought of me!’ In contrast to this, Heathcliff performs many extraordinary deeds however, few of which are in any way admirable and for the benefit of anyone but himself for example, after being degraded for years at the abusive hands of Hindley, Heathcliff disappeared for three years and that space of time turned himself into an outwardly respectable and wealthy man. In addition to the former points, a classical hero must be a perfectly ideal individual but for one fatal flaw. One’s opinion of Edgar Linton can be altered to allow him to fit into this category as he is a well-mannered character who is obviously fully devoted to both his wife and his daughter; Nelly Dean observes, ‘I don’t believe he ever did speak a harsh word to her.’ However, his gentle, spoiled upbringing may be his flaw as it has made him subservient character that lacks the confidence and passion Heathcliff possesses and thus lacks the ability to keep hold of Catherine and make her happy. Heathcliff again, does not fit the mould of the Classic Hero as he fails to meet this criterion; he is an abusive, evil, sadistic individual who shows no hint of remorse or of possessing any admirable qualities. Although neither Edgar nor Heathcliff perfectly fit the mould of a Classic hero, Edgar has more right to be called a Classic Hero than Heathcliff does. However, Heathcliff does fully reserve the right to be classed as the Byronic Hero within the novel as he possesses all the characteristics of one of these heroes while Edgar has none of them. These heroes are manipulative, violent and unrepentant. Heathcliff shows his manipulative nature when he allows Isabella Linton to fall in love with him, he tells Nelly, ‘she abandoned them under a delusion’, showing he was fully aware of her feelings and used them to his advantage, employing them as a tool in which he could gain control and ownership over both properties; Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. His displays of violence are prominent throughout the novel, beginning as a young boy and developing into adulthood. As a young child he, ‘seized a tureen of apple sauce’ and threw it over Edgar Linton’s face. As an adult his violence worsens as, ‘he snatched a knife from the table and flung it at’ his wife, Isabella’s head. In addition to this, he comes close to murdering Hindley and even with Catherine, his true love he does not possess the capability to be gentle, ‘so inadequate was his stock of gentleness†¦ I saw four distinct impressions left blue in her colourless skin.’ Heathcliff’s unrepentant nature is evident via the lack of regard he holds toward his victims which stems from his arrogant personality. The height of his arrogance is seen when he tells Catherine in front of Edgar, ‘This lamb of yours threatens like a bull! It is in danger of splitting its skull against my knuckles. By God, Mr. Linton, Im’ mortally sorry that you are not worth knocking down.’ Arrogance is also a common trait of Byronic Heroes. Despite the fact that both men can be called heroes in their own right to a certain extent, it is because of his amiability and good nature Edgar Linton has the right to claim the title of the respectable hero within the novel. However, in saying this looking at all the characters within the novel, it may be argued that neither man deserve the title but a woman does as the women in the novel are strong, independent and highly feministic characters.

Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay

Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay Transformations in agriculture, natural resource management, exploited tourism, and absentee ranch ownership have changed the face of many rural communities. Several of these changes and other factors have led many rural communities to experience serious declines in their economies during the past decades. These changes have been exacerbated by recent economic hardships further depleting the economy and resources of rural communities. Thus, the precursors and consequences of poverty for families in these communities deserve attention. While Wilson (1987) brought the demographic changes related to urban poverty to light, larger explanations of rural poverty have been less of a research focus. Families living in rural communities are sometimes expected to be buffered by the effects of poverty by maintaining strong family and community connections. However, many of the changes related to family structures and community involvement that often lead to negative outcomes have also become ch aracteristics of rural living (MacTavish Salamon, 2003). In studying rural families in poverty, I propose two theoretical perspectives, symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory that can help guide research and illuminate some of the issues related to families in poverty in such communities. Symbolic Interaction Theory Symbols are used by humans, according to their contexts, to describe the meaning behind physical objects and occurrences. Socialization is considered the propellant of symbols in society. Individuals comprehend situations through symbols and perceived roles of self and others. Human behaviors actualize through the process of perceiving symbols and roles (White Kline, 2002; Blumer, 1967; Mead). Thus, symbolic interaction theory emphasizes how people perceive themselves within and outside the family environment. Several assumptions are captured in this theory, including that people live in a symbolic world, people learn about selves through interactions with others, individuals have minds and can analyze the self, and people learn their roles within society from the society (White Kline, 2002). Thus, images and symbols are found throughout the ecological system, including how the individual perceives, family interactions, and community interactions found within a rural community. Sym bols about rural living are also carried throughout the broader macro system and expectations of the larger society. Symbolic interaction sheds light on rural families coping in poverty on two important fronts. First, understanding the symbols, meaning, and interactions related to poor families in the community can bring awareness to communities and hopefully allow for more social mobility among their residents. Second, understanding the symbols, meanings, and interactions within the family can help families sense of cohesion and ability to cope (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner). Stigmatized symbols related to poverty are often made explicit as a person conducts their daily life. For example, using food stamps at the grocery store especially in a small community is in full view. A family in poverty cannot hide this in private life; there is typically not a front about this (Goffman, 1963). Poor youth in schools will confront meanings about the clothes they wear (name brand or not) and what it means to stand in line for a free or reduced lunch. Students from families who may be struggling to make ends meet may need to stay in after school programs which may also hold a negative connotation with other school youth (McLoyd et al. 2009; Pogash, 2008). These negative connections to symbols may follow families and youth throughout a lifetime in rural communities. For example, a parent may have a poor interaction with the youths school, not knowing how to navigate its systems. The school may then come to expect a childs poor actions and soon a youth may experience t his in the grocery store and throughout the community. These interactions may then be tied to a family name. This addresses one of the several mechanisms through which stratification in a community is maintained by legitimatizing certain stereotypes (source). These are beliefs that are widely accepted and taken for granted, for instance the meaning behind a family name. Furthermore, there may be symbolic people in the community who maintain power and perhaps perpetuate poverty within a community (Bourdieu, 1986). A person may be in charge of a manufacturing company and the workers must buy all manufactured owned products by shopping at the manufacturing grocery store. Then everything goes back into the system where a small group of people or one family retains power. For example, plantation owners gave low wage jobs to keep poor in their place and limited their education which equaled low literacy rates for workers. Thus, people in poverty cannot move upward. This has often also hap pen through racism in the US. Thus, it would be important to understand who has the symbolic power in a community and it may be important to trace this back further than expected in order to clearly understand the history of a region and how certain families have maintained power or even remained poor (Duncan, 1996). A lack of distrust of certain families can occur and arbitrary power can be carried over into the state of contemporary communities. Hence, people forget to see the political nature of their problems and poverty gets seen as a personal problem as highlighted through Mills (1956) concept on the sociological imagination. Finally, the researcher may meet with families to understand how symbols within their one family unit are carried out. This has been used as a helpful therapy tool for families in conflict. Many poor families experience extreme stress related to a lack of resources and so understanding the role strain within families and different meanings attributed to certain actions would also be important for families in poverty (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner; Seccombe, 2006). Thus, regarding research questions, the researcher may pose several inquiries related to the symbolic power in the community and the symbolism related to being poor in the community. The researcher would ask about the certain families that have power in the community. What does it mean to live in a certain area of town? What actions are socially approved in the community? When do you feel like your family is not receiving social approval? How is social status distributed in the community? Also, family members would be asked how they view their specific situation within their family. What burdens do they experience because of their role in the family? What is the meaning behind certain conflicts in their family? Social Exchange Theory Social exchange theory can help researchers consider why families stay in their communities when there may be other alternatives out of poverty if they moved. Social exchange theory describes the characteristics and motivations for humans social behaviors by a system of perceived rewards and costs. Social exchange theory arose out of utilitarian ideas, emphasizing how people are motivated to act in relationships by maximizing their perceived rewards and minimizing their perceived costs. A reward is anything perceived as a benefit to an individual, family, or relational unit; costs are anything perceived as a reward forgone. Social exchange theory asserts that people rationally calculate while assessing decisions based on the profit ratio of costs and rewards (White Kline, 2002). Theorist such as Homans (1961) believed in generalized rewards that most people would adhere to he suggested social approval as the main generalized reward and motivator for humans. Other theorists have pro posed generalized rewards such as love, personal attraction, instrumental services, respect, and power (Blau, 1964), status, services, goods, information, and money (Foa Foa, 1980), autonomy, predictability, security, agreement, and equality of resources (Nye, 1979). Thus, a researcher would assume that a family would rationally calculate about why they decide to stay in a rural environment in poverty when there may be other alternatives. The researcher would want to understand how families situations may apply to the described rewards or costs above. The other alternatives for families must also be understood. The value and meaning of living in a rural community must be elucidated; thus, ideas related to symbolic interaction would also be employed to enhance understanding. On one hand, families choice to live in a rural environment may have higher benefits compared to the costs of living in an urban environment. We must understand what the costs mean to families. The benefits and costs may relate to rural living sentiments (Elder Conger, 2000). Rural families may view a huge cost associated with moving and starting over in a new community. A benefit for staying would be familiarity, perhaps a connection to the land, and social supports in the c ommunity (Elder Conger, 2000). However, a cost of living in the rural environment may be unsteady work and lack of job opportunities. We might also want to consider why poor young adults would choose to stay in the rural community versus leaving the rural community. The researcher would want to understand the costs and benefits of things associated with leaving and going. What are the social stigmas associated with staying or leaving? What job opportunities, educational attainment, marriage choices, and lifestyle choices exist relative to leaving or staying? We would also want to clearly understand the comparison levels of alternatives for the families in poverty. If they see limited job opportunities in new areas, the comparison level is low and they will not be motivated to move. This may be the case for young adults as well, if they view the comparison level of alternatives as low they will likely stay where they are. However, if the comparison level of alternatives is high, the y will likely move and change their situation (White Kline, 2002). Homans (1961) also thought people gravitate toward social equals as people can gain more social approval this way, what he labeled the cost of inferiority. This may help explain why certain parts of a town remain more poverty stricken as people with similar social and human capital gravitate toward one another. It might also be important to understand how this has worked out in community life in a rural environment. The researchers may also want to understand these choices at a larger macro level. In this view, parents, schools, and government make investments in the human and social capital of families and children (Haveman Wolfe, 1994; Strauss). Thus, the researcher may meet with community leaders to understand how they are investing in poor families and youth to understand their cost to benefit ratio. Do they see investments in the social mobility of families as reaping long term benefits that outweigh the social problems related to poverty? Regarding specific research questions, we would want to ask specifically what the advantages of staying in the rural community are. What are the costs of leaving and what are the costs of staying? We would want to clearly understand the meaning of the costs and rewards through in depth qualitative interviews. What does rural living mean to them? These would be similar questions also relevant to the symbolic interaction questions. What symbols are associated with moving and how does this lead to views related to costs or rewards? Why do families live in certain areas of the community? What are the cost and benefits to community leaders of helping poor families with social mobility? Related to the two theoretical perspectives, the types of data the researcher collects would also be important. Associated to symbolic interaction we would want to do in depth observations in the community trying to understand the different symbols related to statuses and families in the community. This would require observations at several institutions; the researchers would meet with people from all different power statuses within the community. We would hopefully gain access to the private life of several families where perhaps less filtering is done (Goffman, 1963). We may ask many clarifying questions related to the symbols and reflect on our own biases about these symbols. We would want to look for places within the community and related to different families where these symbols matched or had discrepancies. Related to social exchange theory, we would likely gain the most information from the in-depth interviews with families and young adults understanding the exact costs and b enefits these families associate with their lives. Our work with symbolic interaction theory would most likely enhance our understanding of the benefits and rewards related to these families as they reflect on why they stay or go. Data should also be collected on community leaders regarding their views of the costs and benefits related to assisting poor families in their community. Limitations The suggested theories may lead the researcher to many interesting questions and data collection efforts, however, the suggested theories also pose several limitations. Social exchange theory for instance is a bit behaviorist, implying all human interaction is a response to a benefit/cost ratio. Researchers must account for the symbols related to rewards and costs as rewards may be unseen and not understood by others. A closed system of understanding rewards may be found in several communities (Acock). Clearly defining rewards and costs would be an important first step before asserting research entirely from a social exchange theorists view point. Clearly, this is an area where symbolic interaction could enhance social exchange theory. Furthermore, asserting that humans always act rationally may be an overstatement. Social exchange theory may also not account for individuals of younger ages who have not fully developed their ability to calculate rationally. Social exchange theory also asserts that individuals are motivated by their own self-interests, some theorists have allowed for people to act in the best interest of their families but clearly understanding the mechanisms of how an individuals desires transform into the familys self-interest may pose a hardship in research (White Kline, 2002). Understanding these explicit processes is an area for future research. Additionally, decisions based on the profit/cost ratio may be made sub-consciously and bringing this subconscious information into the forefront of research may also pose challenges. However, it is important to examine the cost and rewards associated with why people choose to stay in or leave rural communities as these reasons are critical for the econ omic vitality and in understanding how to encourage others to move or stay within their community. Understanding these motivations for young adults and youth who will be the face of rural communities in the future is especially important. Understanding the exchanges for families in poverty is also important to ascertain mechanisms that may help their social mobility. Symbolic interaction may also pose limitations in this study. Symbolic interaction does not deal very well with how people handle emotions (White Kline, 2002). When looking at coping in poverty, emotions certainly play a large role in how families deal with their situation. Furthermore, this type of research is hard to generalize to other communities or cultures as the symbols used are likely only highly relevant to the community being researched. Symbolic interaction also emphasizes the importance of meaning to individuals how the individual views others, is viewed by others, and behaves related to meaning. As this research is specifically studying families, it may be hard to keep the unit of analysis as a family group. Symbolic interaction tends to view the family as a collection of individuals. This may or may not pose issues with the research depending on the unit of analysis of interest.

Frankenstein :: essays research papers

The Lasting Impressions of Frankenstein Frankenstein has had a lasting impression on audiences since its publication in 1818. This continuing popularity is for many reasons. On the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel that shows audiences there is a way to defy death, but on a deeper level it reveals many things about human nature and emotion. This is why I feel the novel has persevered through so many years and still enjoys wide popularity. Beginning on the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel about how to defy death. Human kind has been fascinated with this notion since the beginning of time. One only has to look at the ancient Egyptians and their belief of the afterlife, along with many other cultures and their beliefs of a life after death to see that overcoming death has fascinated people for centuries. This fascination can be looked at on several levels. First of all, death is frightening. It is something that is not understood completely by humans. Humans are scared of what they do not understand. This is portrayed in Frankenstein when the creature is shunned by society simply because he looked different from them and they did not understand him. People are scared of what they do not understand, which is why they were frightened by Victor’s creature. The desire to understand death leads to the desire to control it. Even though death is something that is out of the control of humans, human nature has the urge to be in control of everything. The novel Frankenstein fascinates people because death has been overcome, at least that is how it appears in the beginning. Even Victor himself is fascinated with death. In Volume 1 of the novel, Victor talks of his fascination with the human form and its decay after death. "I saw how the fine form of man was degraded and wasted; I beheld the corruption of death succeed to the blooming cheek of life; I saw how the worm inherited the wonders of the eye and brain" (931). Being able to create life from something that is non-living is just like cheating death. You have control over it, which is what humans want in the first place. It is for all these reasons that Frankenstein has enjoyed continuing popularity throughout the years. Immortality has long been a goal of many humans and stories of it have intrigued people for ages.

Grandpa Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Grandpa My grandpa was one of the most caring and understanding men that I have ever known. He always found a way to make us happy, whether he was dressing- up as Santa Claus, on Christmas Eve, or building us tree houses. His death greatly affected both my grandma and I. The shock of my grandpa’s death totally devastated me. I found out that my grandpa died one night after my mom picked my brother and I up from day care. We went over to our grandma’s house on a weeknight, which was unusual, because we always spent time with our grandparents on the weekends. When we got to our grandma’s house we saw that our dad and our aunt were sitting in the living room with our grandma. This was very unusual, because our dad lives in Prescott, and our aunt works on the other side of Phoenix from where my grandma lives. All three of them looked very somber. I was still pretty young, so I did not realize what was happening, and I asked where our grandpa was. The second I finished my question, dad started sobbing, and said â€Å"Son, grandpa is dead.† He said my grandpa died of a massive heart-attack at about three o’clock that morning. He said there was nothing that the paramedics could have done. I could see there was a spot of bl ood on the floor right where my grandpa died and the paramedics had tried to revive him to no avail. The truth hit me like a freight train, and I began to cry. I did not stop crying until I fell asleep at about two o’ clock the next morning. I did not know what ...

How Media Affects Society Essay

There are still so many people that will insist that the images on TV and words and picture in Newspaper are not responsible for the problems of the society. The media is a good source of information and entertainment. In this first section I will talk about how the media affect our awareness, knowledge, attitude and behavior. You will see how the people turn to media to learn about Moral, Values and interpersonal relationship from the media. The media give us a perception of various culture, religions and believes. These help the average person to identify him and others. It show how people live like, what they believe in and describe the society. For example most media portrait most middle eastern Arabs as terrorist. They describe their ways of life as not conform with the principle of democracy. But the truth is we do not know anything about their belief. Most television viewers consider Arabs as terrorist because of the way they are portrait in the news. Heavy usage of these images may result in the cultivation of this perception. News that we get from certain media contradict the real society. You have to actually understand their religion and beliefs in order to make a statement about the person or the society. The media have a great effect on the society and in our life experience. We sometimes try to apply these concepts to our everyday life. Teenager like to watch TV shows about Love, fashion, Relationship, Violence, Speed and many other things; when older people watch about Food, Health, workout, antiques and news from the world. Things in TOGO (West Africa) there is a TV show that airs every Thursday evening at 8 o’clock. when you go around all the houses in the country at that time everybody is sitting and watching that series. I do not recall the name of the series but it just impressive how a simple TV show can gather so many people at the same time. This affects everyone behaviors at that particular time. Media can be a great source of wisdom and knowledge but we should realize it’s impact on our society, our family ,our kid and our self. Media also causes people to have a negative view on themselves affecting their self esteem. If you were watching tv or watching a movie chances are that the stars of those shows are going to be attractive, slim or muscular. I believe that this gives a negative effect to teenagers who are still developing. By seeing this they think that they have to look and act the same as the people portrayed in these magazines or shows.